Boot and shoe.



FEED hil s Wild t i lfill litll l ll FEED E. JONES, OF BROCKTOH, MASSACEUSETTS, ASSIGNOE Ti JOHN F, DONNEL LY, 0F

BBUCKTON, MAEiSACHUSETTS.

BOOT AND SE03.

rece ses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May lid 1&18.

1/ '0 all iLO/IL it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRED E. Jones, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton. in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. I

This invention relates to boots and shoes and particularly to an outer sole for what are termed welt shoes.

In the manufacture of welt shoes a rib is formed upon the lower side of the insole to which is stitched the upper and the welt, the outer sole being finally stitched to the Welt. This leaves a space Within the rib and between the insole and the outer sole which is customarily filled with some suitable composition such as ground cork or ground leather held together by a suitable hinder. This filler material is generally applied While in a plastic condition to the insole in the space inclosed by the rib during the manufacturing process and before the outer sole is stitched to the welt. In the use of such shoes I have observed that the outer sole generally wears away at or near the center and very seldom on the sides and that the edges of the Outer sole, during Wear, show a tench ency to turn or curl iupwardly. This tendency is probably due, in a large measure, to the fact that the pressure of the hall of the foot at or near the center of the sole, tends to force the filler toward the toe part and sides of the shoe and to cause the insole to engage the, outer sole so that when the outer sole wears through in the center the insole is exposed. lVhen so exposed the insole, being generally of light porous material, permits the entrance oi moisture and necessitates retspping of the shoes although the greater part or the outer sole has not been materially worn away.

The main object of my invention is to produce a boot and shoe of increased life and durability and to this end I crovide a boot or shoe having an outer sole which is reinforced at the point of greatest Wear.

Another object of the invention is to re duce the cost of manufacture'hy eliininating the necessity in Welt shoes for using a filler material hetween the inner and outer soles and thereby reducing the number of operations and the time required in making the shoes.

A further object is to provide an outer sole of such form that the shape of the shoe will be preserved during wear.

Other objects of the invention will be more specifically pointed out and described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1. is a view in perspective of an outer sole made in accordance With my invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View on line 22 in Fig. l and Fig. 3 is a crosssectional view of the forepart oi a shoe having an outer sole embodying my invention.

In the illustrated embodiment of my in vention there is shown an outer sole comprising a forepart 5, a shank 6 and a heel portion 7. The forepart upon the upper side, that is, the side adjacent the insole in the finished shoe, has a, centrally disposed elevated or thickened portion; 8 extending to within at short distance of the edge 9 of the sole. The elevated portion 8 is in outline parallel with the edge of the sole and its edge 10 may he made perpendicular to the inner face of the sole or may he made oblique thereto. At the shank portion 6 of the sole-the elevated portion 8 is gradually tapered off. Y

in Fig. 3 of the drawings the outer sole is shown in position in a finished shoe in which 12 designates the insole having a rib 13 on its lower face, to which is stitched e vamp or upper i l and a Welt 15. The outer sole is secured to the Welt 15 by suitable stitching i6 and the elevated portion 8 engages the lower side of the insole and fills the space within the rib 13 which would otherwise be occupied by the shoe filler.

My outer sole may he made of any suit-- able material and in any manner desired. The soles may he cut out in the form of hlanlrs of a thickness equal to the thickness of the sole in the center of the forepert and the edge and heel portions cut awayto leave the elevated "portion. as shown in the drawinr's or the sole may he cut out and the ele vated portions added thereto er built up afterward.

My invention is especially applicable to soles inside of rubber, rubber composition or other materiel capable of being molded or compressed into the desired form! As a rule it will be found desirable to have the elevated portion slightly smaller in area than the area of the insole inelosed within the rib in order that the irregularities in the line of the rib after the upper and welt are stitched thereto may not interfere with the application of the outer sole to the shoe. In such cases the space between the rib and the edge of the elevated portion of the outer sole may be filled in with rubber cement or composition in order to make the shoe as near waterproof as possible.

It will be observed that the use of my invention does away with the filling operation and thereby reduces the number of operations required in the process of manufacturing shoes andsaves the delay due to the filling operation and to the drying out or setting of the filler material.

One of the most important advantages secured by the use of my invention is the increase in the life and. durability of the shoes. The increased thickness of the sole at the point of greatest wear adds substantially tothe life of the sole without affecting the appearance of the shoe since the sole is not increased in thickness at the edge. In short, the space heretofore occupied by a filler material having no wearing qualities and being more or less unstable, is now taken up by a portion of the outer sole having the same stability and wearing qualities as the tread of the sole.

In addition to lengthening the life of the shoe, the use of my outer sole also tends to preserve the shape of the shoe by preventing the dropping or sagging of the inner sole and the consequent turning up of the edges of the sole and thereby secures a more even wear of thesole which also adds to the life of the shoe.

By doing away with theuse of filler material, I avoid the defects following that use, namely, the bunching and shifting of the filler material during wear which frequently destroys the comfort of the shoe and the squeaking of the sole which renders the of said elevated or raised portion extending approximately throughout the length of the shank and being beveled gradually at its rear end down to the inner face of the sole, said raised or elevated portion projecing into and filling up the space within the rib on said insole which would otherwise be occupied by a shoe filler.

In witness whereof, I hereunto s at my hand this first day of December, 1916i FRED E. JONES, 

